Water Claims & Confrontations: Irrigators say
state shows lack of support

by STEPHEN
FLOYD, Herald and News Feb 8, 2018

FORT KLAMATH
—Upper Klamath Basin irrigators grew impatient with state
regulators during a meeting Tuesday in Fort Klamath and blamed
them for not doing more to protect their water rights.

Tuesday’s
meeting, which saw roughly 20 residents gather at Crater Lake
Resort, was the first in a series being held this week by the
Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) to discuss how the
department plans to impose claims on water this summer.

Other
meetings are scheduled for Thursday at 11:30 a.m. at the
Chiloquin Community Center and Friday at 10 a.m. at Sprague
River Community Center

Both
irrigators and officials are concerned about the current warm
and dry winter in the Klamath Basin. County leaders predict
harsh irrigation restrictions if there are no improvements.

‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to irrigation

Tuesday’s
meeting at Fort Klamath began with a history of water
regulations in Oregon and an explanation of how water claims are
upheld in the order they were created. But irrigators from the
Wood River Valley said they had no time for this information and
wanted OWRD to get to the point: would they or wouldn’t they get
to irrigate this summer?

“We’re
frustrated,” said irrigator Mike Wampler. “Were at the end of
our rope.”

Wampler and
others accused OWRD of being in error in the way they calculated
in-stream flows to determine if water claims are being met.
Though 2017 saw so much water in the Basin that multiple areas
were flooded, the state still validated a claim on water
initiated by the Klamath Tribes, the senior water right holder
on tributaries feeding into Upper Klamath Lake.

Some
irrigators claim that the Tribes have been making blanket calls
on water without justification. OWRD representatives explained
their department must investigate a claim by measuring flows
before a call is validated.

Just rivers, not fields

Ivan Gall,
administrator for OWRD’s field services division, said in-stream
flows mean just that, water flowing in the steam, and his agency
is not called on to measure flooding fields. He said it may
appear sometimes like the river is experiencing an extreme flood
event, but if the flows at the specific location defined in a
water claim are not meeting the claim, a call for water can be
validated.

“It’s to be
measured at lower end because that is how the water claim is
written,” he said.

Gall also
said OWRD is working with the U.S. Geological Survey to help
refine how they measure in the future.

Waiting for the courts

Water users
then questioned if they will ever be able to irrigate again
because, if a high-flow event like 2017 still allowed a call to
be validated, they believe flows necessary for irrigation must
be monumental.

“Only under
Biblical snowpacks will anyone irrigate in the valley,” said
Mike Martin. “…We are not going to irrigate if these are the
flow rates we have to meet all years.”

Klamath
County Watermaster Dani Watson said irrigators who feel anxious
should wait for the adjudication of the Klamath Tribes’ water
rights to resolve. When a judge issues a ruling on the matter,
she said that will set the standard for validating water calls
in the future.

“We need to
run though the courts a little but more,” she said. “We’re not
done yet.”

What about this summer?

When asked if
there were any predictions for water availability this summer,
Ken Stahr, chair of the Oregon Water Supply Availability
Committee, said conditions are “starting to look less and less
optimistic.” He said the Klamath Basin is roughly 30 percent of
where it should be and, though rain and snow later this year
could make up the difference, there’s a long way to go.

“We really
would have to play catch-up big time to make this look like a
regular season,” he said.

Stahr said
water data is updated by his committee every other week and
available online through OWRD, including flows and trends
throughout the Basin.

Not encouraged

Following
Tuesday’s presentation, Wampler said he still believes OWRD
should re-examine how it evaluates water claims in order to
allow irrigation, or else water users like him are “screwed.”
Martin said he was not encouraged by what he heard and believes
this will be another summer without water for farms and ranches.

“I don’t
believe there will be any irrigation,” he said.

Watson said
she would encourage residents with additional concerns to call
her office at 541-883-4182. Though she may be handling more than
100 cases at a times, she said her department is “dedicated” to
answering questions and helping people understand their water
rights.

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